The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) will host a free Alzheimer’s & Caregiving Educational Conference for Washington residents on Wednesday, June 14 from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Seattle (1101 4th Ave., Seattle) as part of its 2023 national Educating America Tour. The free conference is open to everyone and will allow participants to learn from experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, brain health, caregiving, and advance planning. To register, go to http://www.alzfdn.org/tour. Advanced registration is highly recommended as registration closes on June 12th at 12:00pm.
“Knowledge is a useful and powerful tool that can help make any situation easier to navigate, especially something as challenging as caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFA’s President & CEO. “Connecting families with useful, practical information and support that can help them now and be better prepared for the future is what this conference is all about. Whether Alzheimer’s is affecting your family, you are a caregiver or just want to learn more about brain health, we invite you to join us on June 14.”
Sessions during the AFA conference will include:
- An Overview on Alzheimer’s Disease: Prevention, Treatment & Lifestyle – Emma L. Dotson, DNP, AGPCNP-BC SCRN, will provide a general overview of Alzheimer’s disease, including signs, symptoms, demographics and disparities in diagnosis. Dr. Dotson will also talk about prevention and treatments, including lifestyle approaches to management of the disease.
Dr. Dotson is a nurse practitioner specializing in cognitive neurology with the Swedish Center for Healthy Aging in Seattle. She has worked in inpatient neurology and psychiatry as a nurse prior to her doctoral education in primary care and geriatrics. She has a passion for healthy aging, geriatrics, dementia care, lifestyle medicine, and mental health.
- Estate Planning with Alzheimer’s: More Than Just a Will – Estate planning is not just something that you do to protect your loved ones and distribute your assets after you die; it also covers a number of critical decisions that need to be made while your loved one is alive so that their health, legal, and financial wishes are carried out as they would want. Angela Macey-Cushman, JD, MN-MHA, BSN, will discuss the importance of estate planning. She will provide an overview of living trusts, powers of attorney, guardianships and conservatorships, as well as how to protect individuals who have lost the ability to manage their personal and financial affairs. She will provide case examples of people who are planning for possible long-term care needs in the future.
Ms. Macey-Cushman is an attorney and shareholder at Somers Tamblyn Isenhour Bleck Law Firm in Seattle and Edmonds, specializing in estate planning, long-term care planning, and special needs trusts. Prior to practicing elder law, she was a registered nurse and a litigation attorney. Ms. Macey-Cushman has also served as Faculty at the Seattle University School of Law, teaching Trusts & Estate and the Estate and Disability Planning Clinic course.
- How to Communicate with People with Dementia –The impact which Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias have on a person’s ability to communicate can profoundly affect their relationships and their way of experiencing the world. Knowing the person and their preferences are important ways to help adapt. Allyson Schrier, MFA, will describe how dementia affects communication, and will offer strategies to increase understanding, minimize conflict, and reduce challenging behaviors.
Ms. Schrier is a former dementia family care partner who is now a Program Manager at the University of Washington’s Memory and Brain Wellness Center. She is a teacher, dementia consultant, and co-founder of Zinnia, a therapeutic video-based tool to help dementia caregivers better support themselves and those they care for. She is a recipient of a 2020 Maude’s Award for Innovation in Alzheimer’s Care, and was named Visionary Caregiver of 2020 by caregiving.com.
Free, confidential memory screenings will be conducted throughout the day.
For more information or to register for the June 14 conference, visit http://www.alzfdn.org/tour. Those who cannot participate in the conference or have immediate questions about Alzheimer’s disease can connect with licensed social workers seven days a week through AFA’s National Toll-Free Helpline by calling 866-232-8484 or web chatting at http://www.alzfdn.org by clicking the blue and white chat icon in the right-hand corner of the page. The web chat feature is available in more than 90 languages.
About Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA)
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide support, services and education to individuals, families and caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias nationwide and to fund research for better treatment and a cure. Its services include a National Toll-Free Helpline (866-232-8484) staffed by licensed social workers, the National Memory Screening Program, educational conferences and materials, and “AFA Partners in Care” dementia care training for healthcare professionals. For more information about AFA, call 866-232-8484, visit http://www.alzfdn.org, follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. AFA holds Charity Navigator’s top 4-star rating.
